The mistakes every homeowner makes with outdoor paint

A coat of paint can be transformative; it can bring a home forward decades or create a sense of brightness and space.

Street appeal is important and can add big value to your home, but choosing an exterior paint colour is a different art to inside the house and for many, nerves can kick in.

As Dulux’s colour expert, Andrea Lucena-Orr, has dealt with this dilemma and knows the mistakes people are making when deciding on their home’s colour. She's even curated three fool-proof exterior colour schemes for Dulux which can be easily applied to virtually any architectural style for this exact reason.

The idea is that you can mix and match any of the colours from the schemes (Bright Spot, Botanical Life and Natural Beauty) with confidence.

The Natural Beauty palette. Image: supplied.

Either way, avoid these four rookie errors and your home (and neighbours) will thank you.

You didn’t choose a paint based on its ‘true’ colour

“Selecting the exterior colour under interior lighting or inside dramatically affects the true colour,” explains Andrea Lucena-Orr. The best way to know the true colour of your swatch is to head outside. “You must select an exterior colour outside – but not in full sun – to get accurate colour,” she says.

You didn’t consider the undertones or take advantage of samples

The paint in the tin can look vastly different once on the wall, so if you’ve ever painted a room and were left wondering where it all went wrong, then it’s time to consider your undertones.

Colours usually have a mass tone and an undertone: the mass tone is the colour your eye sees first, such as red or blue. The closer the undertone is to the mass tone, the ‘truer’ the colour will seem.

The Natural Beauty palette. Image: supplied.

A good way to know the undertones of your paint choices is to put them next to a pure version of that colour. If you think you have white, put it next to a pure white to have a mind-bending change in perception. The colour of the undertone will show up when next to a pure version of that colour, and this trick works for all colours. If you have neutrals, use darker colours to compare tones.

But your new paint tones aren’t the only ones you need to think about.

“You need to understand the undertones of your bricks, tiles, existing paint colour, pavers, or any other element of your home that can't be changed,” says Lucena-Orr. She believes that Sample Pots are critical for selecting exterior colours for this reason, or you can purchase A4 samples.

“Once you see the chosen colour selection next to your bricks, tiles etc. this will help you understand whether the undertones work in well together,” she says.

Lucena-Orr has another pro tip: “make sure you give yourself at least three days to make your final decision – often a dramatic change can feel quite negative, so allow yourself a few days to get used to the change before the final decision.”

You didn’t look at the larger picture

Love them or loathe them, your neighbours’ properties should be a consideration in your facade paint colour choice. It’s all about context.

“Make sure you consider your neighbours’ home colour schemes when finalising your colour choices for the exterior,” says Lucena-Orr. “You don't want your home to look exactly the same as their home, but you also want it looking quite harmonious next door to each other.”

Bright spot (left, middle) and Botanica (right). Image: supplied.

And if your homes are extremely close to one another, “you also need to allow for colour reflecting off their home if the homes are very close by,” explains Lucena-Orr.

You didn’t start the process with a clean slate

It seems common sense, but many people skip the cleaning part of the painting process, and this is a mistake, says Lucena-Orr.

“Make sure you clean your home before starting the painting process and ensure all of the surfaces are sound for painting. Once the home is clean you can determine whether there is preparation required in filling cracks, sanding any old flaking paint and also whether an undercoat is required,” she says.

What are Lucena-Orr’s favourite facade colours of the moment?

If you're still unsure of what to do, then don't fear - Lucena-Orr has some personal favourites you can copy.

“I'm loving the ‘greiges’ at the moment as many of the other elements such as bricks, stone and timber do tend to have a greyish undertone,” she says. “My favourites are Dulux Dieskau, Teahouse, Tranquil Retreat and Timeless Grey. I also love the whites in Lexicon and Terrace White to highlight and accentuate these beautiful soft ‘greiges’.”